What’s the benefit of meal planning you ask? Why should you dedicate some of your valuable time just to plan what you are going to eat? It’s simple, the answer is, it can completely change your life!
How often have you come home after a long day only to be faced with the inevitable question, “What’s for dinner?” If you’re anything like me, that happens A LOT. You end up digging through the cupboards hoping you find something resembling a meal, you settle on take out, or even better yet, you break down and decide everyone is having cereal for dinner. Believe me, I get it. Dinner is hard work!
The good news is, I have a simple solution for you. Meal planning takes the guesswork out of things and lets you breathe a little easier. I have never been much of a “planner” but once I discovered the benefit of meal planning, my world changed and I know yours will too!
Benefit of Meal Planning #1: You Will Save Money
Gone are the days of wandering the grocery store aimlessly, buying whatever looks good. The biggest benefit of meal planning is that you actually have a plan and know what you need. By adding only the ingredients you need to your shopping list, you can avoid buying the things you don’t need.
Once you start cutting back on the unnecessary groceries, you will also start to realize that you throw away a lot less food. This is because you don’t have as much anymore, so a lot less goes bad before you have the chance to eat it.
What’s the point of having a lot of food if it’s only going to end up in the trash? That is literally throwing money away!
Meal planning alone is responsible for saving me about 25 percent, on average, on my grocery bill. When I started meal planning, I never thought I was overspending on groceries or throwing money in the trash until I saw how it affected my bank account. If you give meal planning a shot, I promise you will see some savings, just like I did!
Benefit of Meal Planning #2: You Will Eat Better
Meal planning lets you visualize exactly what you’re eating before you eat it. That’s something most food journals and fitness apps can’t do
When your week starts to look like, “tacos, burgers, pizza“, you know you need to break it up with a healthy meal or two. Soups and salads are some of my personal favorites when I’m in need of a healthier option. Not to mention, they are so quick and easy!
There will be no more of those inevitable nights where you come home, starving, and one of two things happen: you eat as much as possible of whatever you can get your hands on or you make the fastest possible dinner.
You can kiss the days of binge eating and cereal for dinner goodbye and say hello to a wholesome and balanced diet.
Although I can’t attribute any weight loss directly to meal planning, I can honestly say that my diet has improved, I eat less, and I feel significantly better. I bet you will too if you give it a shot!
Benefit of Meal Planning #3: You Will Relax More
Having more money and a better diet can make anyone feel great, but the peace of mind you get from having dinner pre-planned when you get home after a long day is priceless! It is utterly life-changing!
You never realize how much stress that one little decision of what to have for dinner weighs on you, until you don’t have to do it anymore. Life is all about enjoying the things that makes you happy, so having one less annoying little thing to worry about every day is definitely worth the extra five to ten minutes it takes to plan for the week!
If you haven’t guessed it by now, meal planning is very important and I highly suggest giving it a try. Who knows! You might just find even more benefits than saving money, eating better, and having more time to relax.
I know meal planning can change your life, because it changed mine too! If you need some ideas to get started with meal planning, I highly recommend rotating a six-week meal plan the way Elizabeth at Balancing The Bless suggests.
If all else fails, I promise you won’t miss hoping you have all of the ingredients only to find out that you don’t, and having to find something else to make, that’s for sure!
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